Generally, the rule of thumb is to follow the instructions on the container.

If you look, many supplements instruct you to store them in a cool, dry place. I agree and would add to that, out of direct light. This is for a good reason.

Another thing to consider, one that many of us overlook, is the fact that much of what we are now calling supplements are actually food. That is great news but that being the case, we need to be mindful of how, where and for how long we store them.

This is especially important for items that require refrigeration to avoid spoiling or going rancid. These include but are not limited to: superjuices, certain nuts and seeds, seed and nut powders and butters, and certain oils such as flax or fish oil.

Another reason for refrigeration is to avoid loss of potency. Many probiotics and all superjuices would fall into this category.

Okay, now I want to discuss where you should never store your supplements.

Anyone care to take a guess?

If you said the bathroom, you are correct!

I don’t like to use the word never, so I will back down a bit and say you should really avoid storing your supplements in the bathroom.

I travel quite a bit and have noticed from staying in the homes of friends, family and others that it is a common practice for many people to keep their vitamins and other supplements in the bathroom, usually the medicine cabinet if they have one.

Bad idea!

According to Lisa Mauer, a food scientist at Purdue University, we should never store our vitamins in the bathroom. She warns that the strong humidity can eliminate their benefits by chemically changing their composition…even if the lids are on tight.

“Opening and closing a package will change the atmosphere in it. If you open and close a package in a bathroom, you add a little bit of humidity and moisture each time.”

Mauer said crystalline substances — including vitamin C, some forms of vitamin B and other dietary supplements — may undergo deliquescence, a process in which humidity causes the water-soluble solid to dissolve similar to how sugar cakes in the summer.

According to Maur, once humidity or temperature is brought back down, the product will solidify, but the damage has been done. Depending on how long a person takes a shower, the humidity of the bathroom can go as high as 98 percent.

Mauer’s findings were published in the online version of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Like I stated, it is best to follow the directions on the container. If it is unlabeled such as the case with many bulk items or you are uncertain, look it up.

Let’s face it, investing in our health is investing in our happiness. Everything in life depends on it. Without it we have nothing.

That being the case, we invest in it but we invest in it wisely. That especially includes our time and money.

Storing our supplements and foods in ways that preserve their integrity and effectiveness is investing wisely.

Storing our supplements and foods in ways that cause them to lose their potency and therefore their effectiveness or in ways that cause them to go bad and have to be thrown into the trash or the compost is not!

It’s your time, your money and most importantly, your health…

Invest wisely!

Until next time…

Kind Regards,
A

Although I love the snow and have no problem with the cold at all, the dirty indoor air and lack of sunlight gets to me after a while. For better and for worse, I just have one of those sensitive systems.

At some point around January, it becomes somewhat of an effort to maintain my usual physical, mental and emotional equanimity. My immune system gets overburdened and my brain gets a little out of whack.

I can usually remedy that with copious amount of cardiovascular exercise, antioxidants and 5,000 IU’s of vitamin D/day starting in September and ending in May.

However, I much prefer to just eat as much raw, delicious, clean and nutrient rich superfoods as I can, swim a few times a week and take short barefoot runs or long walks on the beach with my lovely other. I’m a big fan of simplicity!

So many people up North get seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or the winter blues and become intolerant and intolerable!

I hate seeing people in that condition and I really hate seeing them go on meds when some vigorous exercise, fresh clean air in their homes and some vitamin D, starting around September and ending in May, would do the trick.

Moving on…

Today I’d like to talk a bit about understanding.

Most people think that we understand things with our minds…

If you really get down to it, you will see that we actually do not.

In reality, the mind is only capable of grasping objects (physical objects and thought objects), mental activity and concepts.

It is ephemeral and like everything in life, is in constant motion and incapable of holding onto any real understanding.

To seek Truth with the thinking, discriminating mind is a huge mistake.

In those moments when the mind thinks it has understood something, the ego does its little dance and wedges it way in. It says, “Ah, I get it. I understand!”

It likes that sense of power, accomplishment and safety it gets from figuring things out. Of course it wants to hold the winning hand, so it then freezes the insight du jour, adds it to the others and tries to make it the truth.

This can and does get us into trouble!

We are sick with our so-called knowledge, beliefs and opinions.

That is why in Zen it is said, “Do not search for the truth; only cease to cherish opinions.”

Note that it is NOT advised to abandon your opinions; that is going to the other extreme. We are merely being advised to stop CHERISHING them. There is nothing wrong with knowledge, beliefs and opinions. They come in handy.

I know what I know and like what I like, so when I am at the grocery store or shopping for a high ticket item, my preferences and (hopefully informed) opinions are useful for me to get in and get out.

I also know from many years of living and meditating, that my opinions, my beliefs, my thoughts aren’t real or true in any absolute or enduring sense. My brain uses them, based on my past experiences “good” and “bad”, to get me through life successfully. Maybe not with perfect skill, compassion or integrity but they get me by.

The ego is just the ego. It has a job to do. It thinks it is us and is always trying to please and protect us. If you have a mature, well developed ego, and the real-time awareness that it is merely a tool that must be picked up and put down like any other tool, this can be very useful.

Whenever any kind of real understanding occurs, at the ACTUAL moment of understanding, the ego is sound asleep. It is not occupying that space.

If we really get down to it, we can never really know anything with absolute certainty. We can just be certain to a greater or lesser degree. That is okay. In fact, there is much freedom in that!

Any TRUE knowledge of anything arises apart from the mind. It dwells in consciousness, in awareness. It resides in the heart.

This can be said of all forms of understanding, including the kind of understanding we might use to bake bread, learn a new language or for us heterosexual men, to figure out a seemingly impossible puzzle like the emotional weather patterns of the woman we love.

Just kidding ladies. We all know there is no hope for us men to ever figure that one out. But we thank you for your patience and the feminine wisdom that makes a space for us men to think we are clever. I learned a long time ago that women are smarter!

****** That last line, my friends, is a perfect example of a useful belief!!! ******

But I digress…

True awareness, true understanding authenticates itself. It is not achieved, nor can it be captured, frozen or experienced through words or thoughts.

We can tell another all about how being in love feels or how avocados taste but until you EXPERIENCE these things for yourself, you will never understand.

When Truth, Awareness, Consciousness, Understanding, Spirit or whatever term you choose to use arises, it just happens. Kind of like slipping on the ice and falling on your ass.

It has always been and always will be present. In fact it is what we really are.

Please don’t take my word for any of this, I’m just some guy who is pointing at something you already know and are by writing a blog.

But I urge you to really look, really inquire WITHOUT using your mind.

Go silently to your heart, awaken to the Truth and make it your life by sharing the gift of who you really are with the world.

Until next time…

Kind Regards,
Anthony

For those of you who are not familiar with Dr. Hyman, he is a pioneer in the field of functional medicine, the star of a recent PBS special, the editor-in-chief of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, the medical editor of Alternative Medicine, and the author of best selling books such as The Ultramind Solution.

Dr. Hyman’s work has played a key role in my recovery from illness and the work I now do with my clients.

Here’s the deal:

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) have cosponsored a new bill misleadingly called The Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA). DSSA would repeal key sections of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), signed into law by then-President Clinton.

This legislation would change current regulation for dietary supplements. It could make many prescription only, limit what is on the market, offer patents to drug companies and in many other ways severely limit access to dietary supplements.

A wide variety of organizations, working together with ANH-USA, have swung into action to stop John McCain’s new bill that threatens dietary supplements. Already thousands of messages are on their way to Capitol Hill in protest. Please be sure that your message is among them.

I encourage you to act now to send a message to your Senator or Congressman. If you have not already done so, please take action now:

http://www.anh-usa.org/new_site/?p=2326

DSHEA protects supplements 1) if they are food products that have been in the food supply and not chemically altered or 2) if they were sold as supplements prior to 1994, the year that DSHEA was passed. If a supplement fits one of these two descriptions, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cannot arbitrarily ban it or reclassify it as a drug. DSHEA provides the framework for effective regulation of dietary supplements by the FDA.

The Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA) would eliminate the supplement protections contained in DSHEA and allow the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) arbitrary authority to draw up a list of what supplements can be sold and at what potency levels. Europe is currently limiting both supplements and potencies to ridiculous levels. If DSSA passes, the FDA, beholden as it is to drug interests, would move to do the same in the US.

For those of us who manage our own health issues with the help of intelligently used, quality supplements and/or help others do the same, this legislation could have tragic consequences.

I personally know more than a few people, including myself, that could become seriously ill if cut off from certain supplements.

What was once an affordable and empowering way to achieve radiant health and/or manage certain diseases/conditions could become obsolete, ridiculously expensive, completely out of reach or in the greedy hands of big pharma.

Please act now and write to your Senator and Congressman to oppose this legislation.

Please tell everyone you know! Again, here is the link: http://www.anh-usa.org/new_site/?p=2326

Until next time…

Kind Regards,
Anthony

One of the great advantages the people in this part of the country have is the vast array of cutting-edge, healthcare alternatives and practitioners (and unfortunately, silly New Age “healers” who waste people’s time and money, often doing more harm than good…but that is another post entirely!) to choose from. I knew this before I arrived here but I have to say that the quality and quantity (of both skilled practitioners AND silly New Age “healers”!) has far exceeded my expectations.

While here, I have had the opportunity to meet, work with and learn from some exceptional indivuals and can honestly say that the people around here are in good hands. Whether they reach those hands is their responsibility but they are here to help and help they will!

If I would have lived around here when I first started experiencing the symptoms of CFIDS and Celiac disease 12 years ago, I would have been spared years of suffering and confusion, not to mention tens of thousands of dollars. But I didn’t and that is okay because I would not know what I know and do what I do.

Moving on…

Today, I would like to share a little information on CFIDS, otherwise known as Chronic fatique immune deficiency syndrome or simply Chronic fatigue syndrome. I would like to thank the good folks at The Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine for being such a valuable resource.

Chronic fatigue (immune deficiency) syndrome, CFIDS, is a clinically defined condition characterized by debilitating fatigue, persistent for over 6 months, with associated muscle pains, tender lymph nodes, joint pains, low grade fevers, and problems with focus and memory.

Chronic fatigue is estimated to affect almost 1% of the population, and is not limited to white Caucasian middle aged females, as previously thought, but is found in all age groups, races, and economic strata. About twice as many women as men are affected.

However, men (surprise, surprise) are also more likely to due to societal pressures revolving around money and “strength” to keep plugging away or calling it something else despite their symptoms. Many self-medicate and dig themselves deeper by not seeking help. I know this all too well. No man wants to be perceived as “weak” or unable to be productive and successful financially and career/education-wise.

In the future, I will devote an entire post to the topic of CFIDS in men.

Back to our story…

CFIDS is not a condition which fits neatly into the allopathic model of illness. Diagnosis is made by ruling out all other “treatable” causes of fatigue. There are no definitive diagnostic tests. Patients suffering from chronic fatigue are often diagnosed with depression or other neuro-psychiatric labels.

Diagnostic criteria, as defined by the International Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Work Group, are as follows:

* Clinically evaluated, unexplained, persistent or relapsing chronic fatigue that is of new or definite onset

[has not been lifelong]; is not the result of ongoing exertion; is not substantially alleviated by rest; and

results in substantial reduction in previous levels of occupational, educational, social, or personal activities;

and

* The concurrent occurrence of four or more of the following symptoms, all of which must have persisted or

recurred during 6 or more consecutive months of illness and must not have predated the fatigue:

1. Self-reported impairment in short-term memory or concentration severe enough to cause substantial

reduction in previous levels of occupational, educational, social, or personal activities;

2. Sore throat;

3. Tender cervical or axillary lymph nodes;

4. Muscle pain, multi-joint pain without joint swelling or redness;

5. Headaches of a new type, pattern, or severity;

6. Unrefreshing sleep; and postexertional malaise lasting more than 24 hours

By these criteria, chronic fatigue syndrome could very well be a disease of mitochondria – the tiny organelles inside cells which are responsible for energy production. There is some evidence for this. One study showed abnormal mitochondrial function in a subgroup of patients with abnormal lactate responses to exercise (production of lactic acid occurs when there is insufficient energy to fully utilize all the glucose presented to the cell).

Chronic viral or fungal infection is another possible causative factor. Some commonly performed tests are those for chronic viral infection (Ebstein-Barr virus, for example), Candida albicans, and immunologic function including cell population analysis. None of these tests is specific for CFIDS, but they may indicate contributing causes.

Although, the right kind and the right amount of exercise can help dramatically, most people with chronic fatigue syndrome have a significantly decreased ability to exercise. Decreased production of neurotransmitters in the central nervous system may also be a factor.

Excessive body burden of heavy metals is another possibility. Heavy metals can cause significant loss of function of enzymes which promote the cell’s biochemical reactions, experienced in the body as fatigue.

There is some thought that chronic fatigue is almost always a result of simple toxicity or nutritional imbalance, perhaps early metabolic syndrome, from years of eating the typical non-nutritious American diet of processed foods and sugars.

Author Mary Nash Stoddard has proposed that aspartame poisoning may give rise to a number of health problems including chronic fatigue and Fibromyalgia.

Once the diagnosis is established, allopathic medicine has little to offer in the way of treatment. Common wisdom states that most patients will take over 18 months to recover, although some will remain debilitated for the rest of their lives.

There is no need to suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome. First, one needs to understand that mitochondrial dysfunction results in the generation of free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Both can irreversibly damage DNA, and even cause cell death. Therefore, taking antioxidants like CoQ-10, glutathione, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and other similar substances can go a long way toward improving mitochondrial function and relieving the symptoms of chronic fatigue. These are sometimes best administered in IV form.

I personally made a huge step forward when I treated my mitochondria. I did this on my own by using specific doses of CoQ-10, alpha lipoic acid, acetyl l-carnitine, D-ribose, creatine and a few other supplements. If anyone wants more info on this cocktail you can reach me through the contact link. I do individualized nutritional and lifestyle counseling that gets results and get results fast. I am however, not a doctor and do not diagnose or treat diseases of any kind.

Second, it is known mitochondrial function is significantly disturbed by heavy metals. Workup for excessive body burden of heavy metals is very appropriate in the chronic fatigue patient.

Third, intolerance to gluten (wheat, barley, rye and a few other grains) and other food items can result in neurologic symptoms like extreme fatigue without any intestinal symptoms at all. Therefore investigation of gluten intolerance and other food sensitivities should be part of the initial work-up. Food intolerance has been shown to increase inflammatory mediators in the body and to erroneously activate the immune system.

Food intolerance may be determined in any one of several ways. The classic elimination diet works well for those who can tolerate its rigors. For those less tolerant, keeping a food and symptom diary may prove very helpful. There are many other ways of diagnosing this condition, including direct provocation tests, blood tests, and the classic intradermal injections.

Food intolerance has also been shown to be related to several other dysfunctions commonly associated with chronic fatigue syndrome: asthma or respiratory distress, inflammatory bowel disease, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

In my case, I just fell apart. First gradually, then suddenly. What I later figured out and my doctors confirmed through a multitude of tests was that I was walking around with several undiagnosed food allergies, undiagnosed Celiac disease, systemic Candidiasis, high levels of Mercury in my system and the collateral damage (like seizures, depression, cognitive impairment, etc.) that comes with not treating these conditions.

How does that happen to a perfectly healthy male athlete in his late twenties who meditates, does yoga, eats a mostly raw, organic, vegetarian diet and has lots of love in his life? That is also another story and parts of it are still a mystery to me and my doctors.

How am I now? Well let’s just say that these things don’t happen over night and they don’t clear up over night but I am definitely well on my way. Healing one’s brain, immune system and digestive tract is a process and it takes time, discipline and a continuous, deep and mindful understanding.

I will say that I am much wiser, much happier, much healthier and living a wonderful life. I am surrounded by intelligent, insightful, supportive, understanding, creative and deeply compassionate people. I have the greatest friends (especially my friends at the Singing Bowl and Fresh Horizons cafe’s in Erie, Pa who continuously create delicious, organic, vegan, gluten and allergy-free works of art…I mean meals for me), mother, son and girlfriend anyone could wish for.

With CFIDS, like many conditions and diseases, knowing is more than half the battle. It is a shame, a tragedy really, that it takes so many years for conventional doctors to figure these things out and that so many false and damaging diagnoses are often given out. Many healthcare providers are often too busy in general, over-focused on their specific modality or over-focused on treating symptoms and so called diseases with pharmaceuticals rather than treating people and looking for the root causes.

My advice to everyone is to take an active role in your healthcare. Ask questions, look into the matter, talk to different doctors and practitioners. Seriously, they work for you. You pay their bills! Don’t be an asshole, but don’t believe what you are told without doing some research and following your gut. We have no excuse these days when there is such an abundance of information and resources out there.

Again, for anyone seeking guidance, please feel free to contact me. I have traveled this path and know how to navigate it. I’d love to meet you and help in any way!

It’s your body, your life, your happiness. Reclaim them!!!

Until next time…

A

Anyway, I’m back in action! Currently, I am traveling and enjoying sunny Arizona for the rest of the month, then it is off to South Florida to finish the winter and explore some new and exciting opportunities.  

It’s definitely been an amazing, unpredictable and fruitful year.  Many strange, humbling and edifying things have happened.

In the personal realm, a chronic health problem that I thought was in remission decided to stop by for a visit; a promising business partnership dissolved; severe physical injury occurred; a “sound” financial investment shockingly collapsed into the void; a young family member suddenly and tragically passed on; the seemingly happy and indestructible marriage of one of my favorite couples, without warning, ended in divorce. I could continue but the point I am making has nothing to do with a tallying of 2009’s “good” or “bad” experiences.

However just as quickly, if not simultaneously, wonderful things happened…

New opportunities arose in place of lost opportunities; helping hands were extended; eyes, ears and hearts were opened; smiles were exchanged; children were born; new friendships were grown while old friendships were rekindled; goals, victories and milestones were achieved; there was singing, dancing, geese; and (picture me with a warm relaxed feeling in my body and a rather large smile of my face) true love stopped by to say hello and decided to stay.

Added up, these are the things of life. Suzuki Roshi once called it, “Things as It is.” Some are beautiful and amazing. Some are dark and painful. Some are minor inconveniences and some are major pains in the ass. Some are wanted and some are not. All are, whether we understand or not, necessary!  

If I lost you on that one, “Things as It is”, is the understanding that life is one whole being that includes everything, and that the many things are found in one whole being.

We can cling and resist all we want (which is the root of most suffering) but the universe will continue “universe-ing” and life will continue “life-ing.” Everything is ephemeral…we can all agree on that.

I choose to see it as a beautiful and mysterious dance. I find peace and excitement in letting go and resting in the mystery of it all, in the not-knowing. You may choose to see it differently and that is definitely okay.

We are all intimately familiar with the obvious discomforts of not getting what we want or getting what we don’t want. However, there is also a more subtle discomfort that comes with getting what we do want and then experiencing its dissolution.

But if it helps, remember that when things seem painful, difficult, confusing or downright insane and absurd, “this too shall pass.”

It is also useful to remember to practice gratitude and humility when we do get what we want or when things are going well and we are happy because, “all good things must come to an end.”

I am sure this new year will bring much of the same: victories and defeats; ups and downs; birth and death; success and failure; love and love lost…

An important thing for us to remember in this new year is to avoid, as best we can, resisting and fighting the inevitable changes and flux that life brings (and the opportunities for growth they offer when we practice letting go and making room for the new) as well as not clinging too tightly to the people, situations or the things we love.

William Blake summed up this second point beautifully when he wrote:

He who binds himself to a Joy,
Does the winged life destroy;
He who kisses the Joy as it flies,
Lives in Eternities sunrise.

I think Mr. Blake’s words are a good note to end on.

So, let’s all lessen our defenses, loosen our grips, focus on what we want, love well and make it the best year ever!

Until next time…

Kind Regards,
A

These days smokers are always hearing or reading “No.”  Whether it’s in the workplace, a favorite restaurant, or the smoker’s own house, “Not in here!” is getting more and more frequent.

But even though these smokers know that smoking indoors is hazardous to their health and others’, many of America’s estimated 4.5 million adult smokers can’t help feeling like a bad child who’s always being punished. Maybe you’re one of them.

But wait! Aren’t you at least thinking about quitting?  Then maybe it’s time to re-program this “deprivation” into an opportunity.

This is not some New-Age mumbo-jumbo suggestion. On the contrary, it’s derived from a scientific study just published in the American Journal of Public Health. The researchers found that workers whose employers enforced a non-smoking policy at work doubled their likelihood of successfully quitting.

And on a more personal level, those smokers who decided not to smoke in their homes were almost 10 times as likely to be successful quitters as smokers in homes where smoking was permitted.

So, choosing not to smoke in your own home not only decreases the amount you smoke and the hazardous effects on others around you, it will help you quit!

That’s what we mean about changing your thinking.  If you think of not smoking at home as an opportunity, you’ve changed two major aspects in progress toward becoming a non-smoker: you’ve changed your behavior and you’ve changed your thinking.

Changing your thinking from the negative to the positive feels a whole lot better too.   Instead of focusing on “I can’t smoke here,” and all the similar “I can’t”s, you’ll be thinking “I am choosing to make my home smoke-free.”

In effect, you’ll be positively re-programming your mind.  After all, you spent many years as a non-smoker; you had to be programmed to smoke.   So now you can re-program positively not to smoke—at least in certain places at the beginning.

One of the most effective ways to de-program the smoking mindset and re-program the non-smoker back into your mind is through clinical hypnosis. Again, I’m not pushing any magic on you.  Clinical hypnosis is not the stuff of silly stage shows.

Clinical hypnosis has been recognized as a valuable technique for helping change your mindset and your behavior by both the American Medical Association and the British Medical Association since the 1950s.

Moreover, hypnosis is not only a mainstream method for altering your mindset, it’s extremely effective for quitting smoking.  In fact, multi-session hypnosis has about a 66% success rate, far higher than any other method!

So, start by doing some self-hypnosis on your own.  Begin thinking, “I want a smoke-free home; I like how much cleaner and healthier it is now that I don’t smoke in here.”  I bet you’ll next be saying, “Look what I’ve accomplished!   I thought I’d never be able to stand not smoking in the house, but I achieved it—and it wasn’t at all as hard as I thought it’d be!”

And once you’re ready to quit for good, consider the effectiveness of hypnosis.  I urge you to ensure that you have a reputable hypnotherapist, but if you can’t locate one that’s affordable, consider audio hypnosis as an alternative.

Hands-down, the best audio hypnosis program is The Non-Smokers Edge by Dr. Gary Gilchrist. Dr. Gilchrist is a leading expert in smoking cessation through hypnotherapy.  He’s a licensed psychologist in private practice in California and holds a doctoral degree in psychology and extensive credentials in clinical hypnotherapy.

The Non-Smoker’s Edge is published by The Hypnosis Network, the only audio hypnosis provider to earn the Health on the Net seal.   The Hypnosis Network works only with licensed professionals like Dr. Gilchrist.

I have personally used their products with great success and recommend them to friends, family, clients and perfect strangers on a regular basis.  Anyone who has followed through has been pleasantly surprised, if not astounded by how quickly and deeply they work. One literally just has to find a quiet place, be in an alert state, listen and let their mind and other than conscious mind do the rest.

They have such high confidence in their products that they give you a one-year money-back guarantee. Get more information at http://www.hypnosisnetwork.com/hypnosis/quit_smoking.php

* Chung-won Lee and Jennifer Kahende, “Factors Associated with Successful Smoking Cessation in the United States, 2000,” American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 97, No. 8, August 2007.

It is about letting go…

If a dog has a stick in its mouth and you have a treat for it, it has to drop the stick to receive the treat.

Now, most dogs will probably get a little confused at first, but they will also quickly figure out that they must drop the stick to receive the treat.

Most humans struggle their whole lives before they figure this one out!

Many never do…

If we want to receive what life has to offer us in this moment, we have to let go of all prior moments, real or imagined.

We have to let go of our identities, our expectations, our attachments to our desires.

We also have to let go of the non-existent, imagined futures that we often inadvertently distract, neglect or abuse ourselves with.

We have to let go of everything…

For some this seems like an overwhelming task.

In reality, it is the simplest thing in the world but we usually don’t do so well with simple!

So, to make it appear and feel more manageable, we practice letting go in many small moments over and over again.

If you do this, you will experience your life in a radically different way.

You will be free from the bullshit imaginings of the ego, of the conditioned mind and all the suffering and feelings of separateness that come with that powerful, sometimes necessary but all too often silly and maddening bundle.

You will be able to make clearer decisions and choose action over drowning in information.

You will be able to receive and appreciate your life.

And after a while you just may realize that you are life itself…

Drop the stick and receive your life!

Drop the stick and receive yourself!

If that is too much, then just drop the stick and see what happens.

If a dog can do it…

Until next time…

Kind Regards,

A

Once again, I am off on another out of town adventure and am strapped for time.

Before I hit the road, I wanted to share this story by Allen Watts.

It is a story about reality, where the universe came from and what it is all about.  It is not scientific or literal so just chill out and enjoy:

There was never a time when the world began, because it goes round and round like a circle, and there is no place on a circle where it begins. Look at my watch, which tells the time; it goes round, and so the world repeats itself again and again. But just as the hour hand of the watch goes up to twelve and down to six, so, too, there is day and night, waking and sleeping, living and dying, summer and winter. You can’t have any one of these without the other, because you wouldn’t be able to know, what black is unless you had seen it side-by-side with white, or white unless side-by-side with black.

In the same way, there are times when the world is, and times when it isn’t, for if the world went on without rest for ever and ever, it would get horribly tired of itself. It comes and it goes. Now you see it; now you don’t. So because it doesn’t get tired of itself, it always comes back again after it disappears. It’s like your breath: it goes in and out, in and out, and if you try to hold it in all the time you feel terrible. It’s also like the game of hide and seek, because it’s always fun to find new ways of hiding, and to seek for someone who doesn’t always hide in the same place.

God also likes to play hide-and-seek, but because there is nothing outside God, he has no one but himself to play with. But he gets over this difficulty by pretending that he is not himself. This is his way of hiding from himself. He pretends that he is you and I and all the people in the world, all the animals, all the plants, all the rocks, and all the stars. In this way he has strange and wonderful adventures, some of which are terrible and frightening. But these are just like bad dreams, for when he wakes up they will disappear.

Now when God plays hide and pretends that he is you and I, he does it so well that it takes him a long time to remember where and how he hid himself. But that’s the whole fun of it—just what he wanted to do. He doesn’t want to find himself too quickly, for that would spoil the game. That is why it is so difficult for you and me to find out that we are God in disguise, pretending not to be himself. But when the game has gone on long enough, all of us will wake up, stop pretending, and remember that we are all one single Self—the God who is all that there is and who lives for ever and ever.

Of course, you must remember that God isn’t shaped like a person. People have skins and there is always something outside their skins. If there weren’t, we wouldn’t know the difference between what is inside and outside our bodies. But God has no skin and no shape because there isn’t any outside of him, like a Mobius strip. The inside and outside of God are the same. And although I have been talking about God as “he” and not “she,” God isn’t a man or a woman. I didn’t say “it” because we usually say “it” for things that aren’t alive.

God is the Self of the world, but you can’t see God for the same reason that, without a mirror, you can’t see your own eyes, and you certainly can’t bite your own teeth or look inside your head. Your self is that cleverly hidden because it is God hiding.

You may ask why God sometimes hides in the form of horrible people, or pretends to be people who suffer great disease and pain. Remember, first, that he isn’t really doing this to anyone but himself. Remember, too, that in almost all the stories you enjoy there have to be bad people as well as good people, for the thrill of the tale is to find out how the good people will get the better of the bad. It’s the same as when we play cards. At the beginning of the game we shuffle them all into a mess, which is like the bad things in the world, but the point of the game is to put the mess into good order, and the one who does it best is the winner. Then we shuffle the cards once more and play again, and so it goes with the world…

Until next time…

Kind Regards,

A

To say it was surreal is an understatement…

One minute we were in the car talking about life, women, our children, our finances and the next we were sitting in a farm house with Rinpoche and his interpreter.

I am not at liberty to reveal specifics, but many questions were asked.

Some were very ordinary and some were very deep…

The answers were always very simple!

One thing that struck me over the weekend was the amount of confusion in peoples minds about meditation and enlightenment.

I would like to talk about the latter.

I think that many people are under the assumption that when one reaches enlightenment, all of their personality flaws and imperfections just drop away.

That is not the case…

Although we’d like to believe there is a path that is impervious to our own proclivities for self-deception, self-sabotage and our personal versions of delusion and ignorance, there is not.

From my experience, I have seen that most people approach things like meditation and other spiritual practices with a certain naiveté.

They seem to think that there is a way to practice that is impervious to their defenses, unconscious programming, beliefs and emotional patterns.

I am here to say there is not…

We have certain ways of being, a specific personal history and our own character to reckon with.

There is no way around it…

What I have found is that the more awake I become and the more “enlightened” I become, the more my shortcomings become painfully evident to me.

That may sound discouraging to some but believe me it is not…

It is a gift!

With this seeing comes the ability, the determination and the will to do something about our condition.

The understanding comes first but the change in behavior takes time.

Habituality is deeply, deeply rooted!

Much of what we are up against is emotional in nature. If we are to change our behavior, we first must do the work to neutralize our negative emotional charges.

Usually, much of this work takes place off of the cushion and uses means that are not specific to our practice as an adjunct.

More on this in my next post.

Until next time…

Kind Regards,

A

I am still in Columbus attending a teaching with Tibetan lama, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche on Mahamudra.

I am on on the run, so please forgive this Frankensteined blog!

Over the weekend I heard many people ask for Rinpoche’s advice on meditation…

Seems like many people just can’t (which means won’t) take the time to practice, or do practice and have many thoughts arising that they find undesirable.

Many people seem to think that proper meditation requires absence of thought which is entirely erroneous.

I came across some interesting words regarding meditation that many of you might find useful.

But before I get to that, some of you are probably wondering what Mahamudra is…

Mahamudra literally means “great seal” or “great symbol”.

Thubten Yeshe explains the use of the term: “Mahamudra means absolute seal, totality, unchangeability. Sealing something implies that you cannot destroy it. Mahamudra was not created or invented by anybody; therefore it cannot be destroyed. It is absolute reality”.

The term Mahamudra refers to the realization arising from certain advanced forms of Buddhist meditation practice, comprising methods of attaining a direct introduction to the nature and essence of the mind. Mahamudra also includes practices to stabilize the accompanying transcendental realization.

The practices associated with Mahamudra draw upon instructions from multiple levels of Buddhism, including Sutra and Vajrayana, to provide a range of approaches to enlightenment suited to the needs of various practitioners. Mahamudra is believed to enable one to realize the mindstream’s innate purity, clarity and perfection, summed up by the term “buddha nature”, the topic of the Third Turning of the Dharmachakra, the final phase of Gotama Buddha’s teachings.

Aryadeva summarises: “The discussion of how to attain mahamudra entails methods for meditating on mind itself as something having voidness as its nature.”

Another way of putting it is…”Mahamudra is the union of great bliss and emptiness – the very subtle mind that experiences great bliss and realizes ultimate truth. By enabling us to go within to uncover the deepest level of our mind and then to use the very subtle mind to meditate on ultimate truth, Mahamudra practice destroys all our delusions at their very root and thus propels us quickly to the state of full enlightenment.”

Now back to the issue of meditation…

I would like to share some words I came across that some of you may find useful. They are the words of a man I have never met or heard of until this weekend. I only know of him as “Kip.”

Here is what he had to say about meditation:

“I often hear people saying they can’t meditate.

But what they are really saying is they won’t meditate.

Whatever reasons they give, the truth is in meditation they have come across an experience they do not wish to experience.

Whether they are conscious of it or not, they have felt a sensation that they do not wish to feel.

The reasons on top of this are just excuses.

The moment you allow yourself to experience those sensations you are avoiding, then you see the futility of your reasons, the futility of your thoughts.

The futility of trying to figure it all out.

It really has nothing to do with mind.

You just didn’t want to feel a certain sensation, and once you did, it wasn’t so bad, ironically, it was quite blissful.

Suddenly you are filled with love and peace until the next sensation you unconsciously resist makes itself known.

Once you realize this one very simple point, that the reason you can’t meditate is that you do not wish to feel a certain sensation, then meditation becomes very clear.

Then you see the power is in your hands.

Most people are just looking for the bliss and they don’t want to do the work to get it.

And that is perfectly fine, a little relaxation and meditation will give you this.

But if you want more than this…

If you want freedom, from this constant conflict of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain and all the stress & suffering that goes with it, then you will be willing to sit through the uncomfortable experiences and enjoy the peace that goes with it.

Unconditional peace does not come from feeling happy all the time.

Unconditional peace comes by being present with what is here regardless of how you think it feels.

You give it a try and I bet you’ll really like it.”

Until next time…

Kind Regards,

Anthony